So after having quite a while with the game, I figured it was a good time to lay down my thoughts. My total thoughts about Far Cry 3 can really be laid out in one sentence:
Far Cry 3 is a glaring example of what is wrong with Ubisoft games. MISSED POTENTIAL.
Far Cry 3 launches for the clouds, and hits them, but is suddenly pulled back down by the force that is poor design, plot, and direction choices. Like (and unlike) Far Cry 2, the game is held back by these choices, but at the opposite end of the spectrum, where some of these changes are clearly over board. Far Cry 3 tries to fix some of the issues from Far Cry 2, but often too much, without the happy medium.
The story which seems to be front and center the main feature of the game, takes a nose-dive midway through the game, betrays your expectations (not necessarily in a good way), and kills itself in a way that is almost false advertising. Still, the story is good enough to experience at least once. The characters are top notch (yes, even the douchey ones) which is sad, because they took a back seat the best character of the entire game, which is where the game fails (those of you that havn't played, or made it halfway will find out.)
Worst of all, the real wasted potential is the island itself. This HUGE, lush environment where the devs could have packed corner to corner with various story based side quests, are replaced with below-standard mini-game type activities. Uninteresting so much, that you only find yourself doing them at a minimum to get by. Sure, there are distractions here and there, but those wear off after a while.
Multipler and the Map Editor are also jarring examples of how Ubisoft not only hinders their potential, they full out take it outside and execute it. The Map Editor is a very powerful tool, but is held back by the terrible Multiplayer layout in regard to the lobbies.
I havn't played Co-Op yet, but I intend on trying as soon as I take out some of my backlog.
I love this game, GAF. but I'm hurt by the potential that Ubisoft could have clearly grasped and ran away with, but almost clearly declined.